Published: September 28, 2021
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Pages: 384
Synopsis: As a Striker, Talin was taught loyalty is life. Loyalty to the Shield who watches your back, to the Strikers who risk their lives on the battlefield, and most of all, to Mara, which was once the last nation free from the Karensa Federation’s tyranny.
But Mara has fallen. And its destruction has unleashed Talin’s worst nightmare.
With her friends scattered by combat and her mother held captive by the Premier, Talin is forced to betray her fellow Strikers and her adopted homeland. She has no choice but to become the Federation’s most deadly war machine as their newest Skyhunter.
Red is no stranger to the cruelty of the Federation or the torture within its Skyhunter labs, but he knows this isn’t the end for Mara – or Talin. The link between them may be weak, but it could be Talin and Red's only hope to salvage their past and safeguard their future.
While the fate of a broken world hangs in the balance, Talin and Red must reunite the Strikers and find their way back to each other in this smoldering sequel to Marie Lu’s Skyhunter.
With her friends scattered by combat and her mother held captive by the Premier, Talin is forced to betray her fellow Strikers and her adopted homeland. She has no choice but to become the Federation’s most deadly war machine as their newest Skyhunter.
Red is no stranger to the cruelty of the Federation or the torture within its Skyhunter labs, but he knows this isn’t the end for Mara – or Talin. The link between them may be weak, but it could be Talin and Red's only hope to salvage their past and safeguard their future.
While the fate of a broken world hangs in the balance, Talin and Red must reunite the Strikers and find their way back to each other in this smoldering sequel to Marie Lu’s Skyhunter.
Thoughts: While I may have forgotten to write an official review for Skyhunter here back when I read it earlier this year, I quite enjoyed it, and was looking forward to this sequel to wrap up the duology. If you've followed my blog for long, you'll have noticed that I've been a fan of author Marie Lu for awhile, and though I haven't loooooved every one of her books, I have liked all of them.
So, how does Steelstriker rank? I'd say it's middle of the pack for me. Though I appreciate the reasons why the story had to play out the way it did, it felt like it took a really long time for it to to start going places. I just wanted things to start coming together faster, particularly since it seemed pretty clear where everything was eventually headed.
What I always find a little tough about these types of series, where the focus is on a group of oppressed people who want to rise up against their oppressors, is that you always know where things are headed. And it always seems to end in some sort of battle. And I just... find battles boring. Like oh here we go, more fighting, woo hoo. That's not to say this book is full of fighting, because it really isn't, I just wished it had a few more unexpected twists.
Nonetheless, it was a satisfying conclusion to Talin and Red's stories, so if you read the first one and enjoyed it, you probably won't be disappointed, you just might wish it all went a bit quicker, like me.
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